Peanut-planter.



J. R. AYERS.

' PENUT PLANTBR. APPLICATION IILED 00T.10, 1910.

Patented Man 28, 1911.

M/MM- J. R. AYBRS. PENUT PLANTER. APPLICATION FILED OOT.10,1910.

JAMES R. AYERS, CF PETERSB''RG, VIRGrNIA.

PEANUT-PLANTER.

Specificaton of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 10, 1910.

Patented Mar. 28, i911.

Serial No. 586,371.

T0 aZl w7zom it may conccm:

Be it known that I, JAMES R. AYERS, residing at Petersburg, in the county of Dinwiddie and State of Virginia, have invented a new and Improved Peanut-Planter, of Which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object the improvement of peanut planters, particularly of that type disclosed in my Patent No. 346,976 of August 10, 1886, and 635,635 of October 24, 1899, and to adapt the machines shown in my patents rcferred to, to better, and more easilyhandle light and bnlky seeds, such as for instance, unshelled peanuts.

My present invention, in its generic featurcs, embodies an improved arrangement of the seed carrying devices especially designed for allowing more time for filling the cups or seed conveyers while preserving.

the saine speed of the conveyers, and whereby to enable the correct and uniform spacing and dropping of the seed in the furrow.

In its more complete nature, my present construction of peanut planter includes a special arrangement of a plurality et conveying bclts and other combinations and arrangement of parts, all of which Will be hereinafter fully explained, specifically pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1, is a perspective view of my improved peanut planter, parts of the seed hopper being broken away to the better disclose the internal mechanism, the hopper cover being indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 2, is a vertical, longitudinal section that shows the operating parts of the machine, and is taken substantially on the line 22 on Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arroW. Fig. 3, is a transverse section thereof (on a reduced scale) taken on the line 33 on Fig. 2. Fig. 4:, is a vertical section taken on the line 44 on Fig. 2. Fig. 5, is a detail view of a modified arrangement of the conveying belts. Fig. 6, is a detail VieW of the partition nozzle or belt guide hereinafter referred to. Fig. 7, is a detail view of one of the covering drags. Fig. 8, is a cross section of the upper combined conveyer chain supporting and drive wheel. Fig. 9, is a detail horizontal section on the line 99 on Fig. 2. Fig. 10, is a sectional view of one of the chain cups. Fig. 11, is a detail view of the clutch device on the driving wheel shaft.

The framing of my present form of planter includes the longitudinal side beams 11, the rear cross beam 10, the vertical yoke or standard 11 mounted on the said beam 10, the handles 22 secured to the beams 11 and the standard 11.

The front end of beams 11 are fastened to the lower ends of the pendent side portions 30 of the hopper 3, which are joined to a cross bottom member 31 under Which is mounted the soil opener 32 located in advance of the covering roller 5, and the adjustable drag or scraper members 4, all of the said parts being of a conventional arrangement and for1n no essential feature of my present invention.

The hopper 3 has its bottom dished to dis charge toward a feeding nozzle 27 in the nature of a casting formed With a central and two end flanges 28 and 29 and is arranged in the discharge opening in the hopper and serves toguide the seeds into the cups of the carriers presently again re ferred to, the flanges of said nozzle also acting to separate the endless conveyer belts as best shown in Fig. 3.

8 designates a chute having a vertical groove to allow for the convenient insertion of a partition 9 thatdivides the chute into longitudinal compartments g through each of which a feeding belt travels, and the lower end of the chute terminates in a single discharging throat or delivery member. As is most clearly shown in Fig. 9 the chute 8 is supported by a yoke 6 suitably secured, for example, by studs 60, to the back Wall of the hopper. The endless conveyer mechanism, the construction of which forms the essential feature of my present invention, comprises two chain belts 13-13, as shovvn, and these are arranged side by side so that they have upwardly movable stretches that operate within the hopper 3 and clownwardly moving stretches operating Within the two vertical compartments of the chute 8 located on the opposite sides of a central partition 9.

The chain belts 13 are each composed of detachably connectible links, some of which are plain and others of which have seed carriers or caps 1 1, it being understood from the drawing that in ascending, the caps as they rise np through the nozz1e guide 97, take up the seeds and as they pass over the nppcr or supporting wheel 15 they descend with their contents into the compartments wy of chute 8.

In the preferred arrangement the caps on the two chains arc alternateiy disposed, that is, a cnp on one chain is in line with a plain ]ink of the other chain, it heing ob- X'1OUS that a greater distance between the droppings is etiected by having a cnp 1ink arranged a1"ter two or more plain links.

That end of each of the caps 1 1- that passes npwardiy through the hopper has a pocket 14 and it is these pockets that gather the seed and carry the same over, the snp porting whee1 15, and the said pockets, as they begin their descent into the chute ontside of the hopper drop the seeds onto the hack et a preceding cap, the latter now servin as a support for the seeds as the dcscend in the said chute to the. single discharge opening in the lower end thereof.

The drive and supportingz pnlley 15 is monnted on a shaft 17, snitab1y journa1ed on the upper rear edge of the hopper, and on the said shatt 17 is a gear 18 that meshes with a pinion 19 on a stnb shaft 20 adjnstab1y and rearwardly held in a diagona11y s1otted bracket 21 mounted on the upper rear edge 01" the hopper, as is clear1y shown in Fig. 1.

Shat't 19 carries a sprocket gear 22 over which takes a sprocket chain 23 that passes over a sprocket wheel 21 on a clntch hnb 25 s1idab1y monnted on the shaft 50 of the covering roller and adapted to be moved into engagement with a c1ntch member 51 fixed on the said shatt 50, a snitable lever 52 being connected thereto for operating the same.

The object in detachably monnting the gear 19 and sha:tt 20 as stated is to provide for snstaining a langer or sma11er size of said gear 1919 as desired.

The conveyer be1ts 13 have their 1ower portions take aronnd tension pnlleys 16 journaled on stnb shafts 16 that extend inward1y from a pair of rods 16 that take throngh a yoke or sadd1e member 17 monnted on the hopper trame. 47 designate baffer springs on the rods 16 T0 facilitate the proper guidance of the chains 13, their links are longitndinaly grooved on their inner face to hng the peripheral edge of the said pnlleys, it being understood the springs 4:7 serve to maintain the pnlleys 16 at thcir lowermost position and thereby keep the chain be1ts under constant tension.

The chain driving and supporting whee1 15 comprises two end disks 15", an inter mediate disk 15 and radial tooth portions 15 for engaging the chain links, it being nndcrstood the said whce1 15 is a double drive wheel, each part thereof accommodating one of the chains 13 and the toothed portions 15 *15 of the wheel 15 are so spaced relatively to the chains 13 to permit the Opposite edges of each 1ink of the chains to contact With two adjacent ones of the said teeth, see Fig. 8.

It will be noticed in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, the two chains are relatively positioned se a cap on the 1ink 0:1 one chain aitcrnates with an open link on the other chain, snch arrangement of the chains pro- Viding for p1anting the seeds first from a cap on one chain and then from a cap on the other chain, the dropping operation be- 1ng nniform.

When it is desired that a ph1ra1ity oi seed droppings be etected at each delivery, the chains 13 are adjnsted to bring thcir caps in alinement as in Fig. 5, and such adjnstment is accompiishcd hy simp1y pulhng one. 01 the. chains iorwardly on its hearings to cause it to s1ip over the heveicd cdncs 0:1 the teeth 15, this being rcadih e11ected since in the practica1 arrangement the yie1dahle monnting of the lower bearing pul1eys for the chains provideg for snfiicient s1ack on the chains to permit the slipping et the chains forward1y over the driving whee1 teeth 15 Bac]; pull of the chains 1s prevented by the straight edges of the said teeth 15.

At on end the wheel 15 has a bere1 pinion 15 with which meshes a bevel pinion 19 on the upper end of a shaft 19 monnted in the hopper and having a stirrer arm or blade 19 for agitating and stirring the contents of the hopper to facilitate a proper ontteed of the said contents.

T he stirrer devices refcrred t0 may be omitted since they form no essentiel ieatnre of my present invention.

Operation: The operation of the machine is hest exp1ained as fo1lows: When the machine mores forvard, motion is transmitted fronr the covering ro11er shat't to the gearing that actuates the wheel 15 and thereby imparting motion to the chain or conveyer belts. The peanuts are carried by the buckcts on the downward stretch of the chains within the chute 8 and they are dropped therefrom into the furrow through the ont- 1et or throat memher of the chute as the chains pass under the 10Wer pul1eys 16, the seeds being dropped into fnrrow before the nearest cap up the next or adjacent belt has approached its lowermost position, such ar rangement of parts providing for causing the severa1 carriers to successively discharge their contents into the fnrrow withont necessitating any increase in the speed of the be1ts on the driven relier.

It is apparent that by adjusting the seed carriers or cups on the various belts s0 they do not have a staggered relation but arranged side by side as shown in Fig. 5 an inere-ased number et peanuts or seeds can be deposited at one point, and by inserting as many cup bearing links into each chain as may be neeessary or desirable, the distance between the successive outlets or discharge points in the turrow may be varied at Will.

From the toregoing, taken in connection with the drawing, the complete construction, the operation and the general advantages Will be readily apparent, it being understood that slight modifications and various changes in the details ot construction shown and described may be made without departing trom my invention or the scope of the appended claims.

IVhat I claim is:

1. A peanut planter, the tollowing ele- 1nents in combination, a hopper having a divided throat at the bottom, a chute cooperatively connected with the hopper, a centrally divided chain drive pulley located above the hopper and the chute, y1eldably mounted chain drive pulleys Delo w the hopper and the chute, a pair ot endless carr 1er chains that take around the divided dr1ve pulley and the yieldably mounted pulleys, said chains each having carrier cups tor traveling up through the divided throa t ot the hopper and clown through the divided chute.

2. In a peanut planter, the tollowmg elements in combination, a hopper havmg a divided throat at the bottom, a chute cooperatively connected with the hopper, a centrally divided chain drive pulley located above the hopper and the chute, yldably mounted chain drive pulleys below the hopper and the chute, a pair ot endless carr er chains that take around the divided drive pulley and the yieldably mounted pulleys, said chains each having carr1er cups tor traveling up through the divided throa t ot the hopper and clown through the d1 v1ded chute, said chains being long1tud1nally shittable on their pulley bearings relat1vely to each other.

3. In a peanut planter, a hopper achute outside the hopper, having a plurality ot passages, a pair of endless conveyer charns mounted on the hopper to travel up through the hopper and clown through the chute, and a teeding throat mounted in a bottonropening in the hopper, having a plurahty ot walls that torm guides tor the chains as they pass therethrough and having a web by which said throat is secured in the honper bottom.

l. In a device ot the charaeter described, a trame, a supporting wheel theretor, a hopper carried by the trame, a chute detachably secured at one side ot the hopper, a detachable longitudinal partition dividing the same into a plurality ot compartments having a single outlet, a plurality ot chain conveyers traveling through said hopper and the respective compartments ot the chute, each ot said conveyers being provided with seed cups, and means tor driving said conveyers including a pulley rotated trom the supporting wheel, the pulley being divided by a partition wall into a plurality ot passage ways over each ot which one ot the conveyers travels.

5. In a device et the character described, a trame, a supporting wheel theretor, a hopper carried by the trame, a chute cletachably secured at one side ot the hopper, a longitudinal partition dividing the same into a plurality ot chain conveyers traveling through said hopper and the respective compartments of the chute, each ot said conveyers being provided With seed cups, and means for driving said conveyers including a plurality ot pulleys rotateu trom the support-ing Wheel, one ot said pulleys being divided by a partition wall into a plurality ot passage ways over each ot which one ot the conveyers travels, and the other ot said pulleys being yieldably mounted.

6. In a device ot the character described, a trame, a supporting wheel theretor, a hopper carried by the trame, a chute secured at the rear ot said hopper, a plurality et chain conveyers arranged side by side and carrying a plurality ot seed caps, said conveyers being adjustable relatively to each other, a partitioned pulley supporting both ot said ehain conveyers at their upper extremities, a single springpressed pulley supporting said conveyers at their lower extremities, and means actuated trom the support-ing roller tor moving the conveyers.

7. In a peanut planter, the combination of a wheeled trame, a hopper mounted thereon, a chute having a single discharge at the lower end and a plurality ot vertically extending compartments, a partitioned pulley mounted on the upper end ot the hopper to coperate with the chute compartments; a plurality ot endless conveyer chains supported on the pulley, one. stretch ot which passes up through the hopper and the other stretch ot which passes clown the chute compartments, buckets on the chain tor lifting and depositing the seed, a guide pulley tor the lower end ot each chain, tension devices tor the said guide pulleys and means tor clriving the chains supporting pulley, said partition pulconveyer, said 1neans including a divided chain support-ing driving pulley having l'adial chain engaging teeth.

9. In a peanut planter, a convoyer mechanisn1, comprising a pair of endless conveyer chains, yieldable pulley bearings fol engaging one portion of the said chains, a partitien pulley bearing for engaging the other portions of the said ehain, said partition pulley bearing having radial cl1ain engaging teeth, one of the outer edges of the teeth being beveled, to permit said convoyer chains to be slipped over said teeth in one direction and prevent said chains being slipped over said teeth in an opposite direction.

10. In a peanut planter, a hopper having an opening in its bottom, a throatway having a flange secured to the bottom of said hopper on the inside of the saine and having a partitioned throat portion projected throngh the opening in said hopper bottom to form tWo parallel channels, a shaft ournaled in bcarings on the top of said hopper, a single cl1ain pnlley on said shaft, tWo endless bucl:ot chains taking over said pulley, one of said chains passing throngh one chan nel of said throatway and the other ohain passing throngh the other channel of said throatway, and a divided chute secured to the outside of said hopper throngh Which said chains pass, said chute having a com- 1non discha1ge opening for the material from both chains, and means for driving said shaft.

11. 111 a peannt planter, a hopper having an opening in its botto1n, a throatway having a flange secured to the bottom of said hopper on the insicle of the same and having a partitioned throat portion projected through the opening of said hopper bottom to form two parallel channels, a shaft journaled in bearings on the top of said hopper, a single chain pulley on said shaft, two endless bucket chains taking over said pulley, one of said chains passing through one channel of said throatway and the other chain passing through the other channel of said throatway, and a divided chute secured to the outside of said hopper throngh Which said chains pass, said chute having a common discharge opening for the material from both chane, means for driving said shaft, a single pulley having side fianges and over which both of said endless chains pass, and means secu1ed beneath said hopper in which said last named pulley is yieldably mounted.

12. In a peannt planter, a hopper having an opening in its loottom a throatwa hav ing a flange soeured to the bottom of said hopper on the inside of the same and having a partitioned throatway projected throngh the opening in said hopper botto1n to form two parallel channels, a shat journaled in bearings on top 01? saicl h opper, a single chain pnlley on said shaft, two endless bnoket cl1ains taking over said pnlley, one of said chains passing throngh one channel of said throatway, and the other chain passing throngh the other channel of said tliioatway, a divicled chute secnred to the outside 01: said hopper through which said chains pass, said chute having a com- 1non discharge opening for the material from both chains, means for driving said shaft, a stirring rod mounted in said hopper, adja cent to said chains and gear connections between said stirring 1'od and said shatt for i1nprting motion to said stirring 1ocl, said stirring rod having a transverse stirring member near the bottom that projects Over said flange of said tlnoatway.

JAMES R. AYERS.

Vitnesses ANN-IE C. SCOTT, M. V. BECKWIIH.

Copies of ths patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Vashington, D. C. 

